במדבר 11
| ויהי העם כמתאננים רע באזני יהוה וישמע יהוה ויחר אפו ותבער בם אש יהוה ותאכל בקצה המחנה | 1 |
One day the people complained to Yahweh about their troubles. When Yahweh heard what they were saying, he became angry. So he sent a fire which burned among the people at the edge of their camp.
| ויצעק העם אל משה ויתפלל משה אל יהוה ותשקע האש | 2 |
Then the people cried out to Moses/me, and he/I prayed to Yahweh. Then the fire stopped burning.
| ויקרא שם המקום ההוא תבערה כי בערה בם אש יהוה | 3 |
So they called that place Taberah, [which means ‘burning’], because the fire from Yahweh had burned among them.
| והאספסף אשר בקרבו התאוו תאוה וישבו ויבכו גם בני ישראל ויאמרו מי יאכלנו בשר | 4 |
Then some troublemakers from other people-groups [who were traveling] with the Israelis began to want better food. And [when they started complaining] the Israeli people also started to complain.
| זכרנו את הדגה אשר נאכל במצרים חנם את הקשאים ואת האבטחים ואת החציר ואת הבצלים ואת השומים | 5 |
They said, “We wish we had some meat!
| ועתה נפשנו יבשה אין כל--בלתי אל המן עינינו | 6 |
We remember the fish that we ate while we were in Egypt, fish that was given to us without (cost/asking us to pay for it). And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic [that we wanted]. But now we do not have any desire to eat, because all we have to eat is this manna!”
| והמן כזרע גד הוא ועינו כעין הבדלח | 7 |
The manna resembled small white seeds.
| שטו העם ולקטו וטחנו ברחים או דכו במדכה ובשלו בפרור ועשו אתו עגות והיה טעמו כטעם לשד השמן | 8 |
[Each morning] the people would go out and gather some [from the surface of the ground]. Then they made flour by grinding it or pounding it with stones. Then they [added water and] boiled it in a pot, or they made flat cakes with it [and baked them]. The cakes tasted like bread that was baked with [olive] oil.
| וברדת הטל על המחנה לילה ירד המן עליו | 9 |
Each night the manna came down on their ground where their tents were, like dew [from the sky].
| וישמע משה את העם בכה למשפחתיו--איש לפתח אהלו ויחר אף יהוה מאד ובעיני משה רע | 10 |
Moses/I heard all the Israeli people complaining as they were standing in the entrances of their tents. Yahweh became very angry, and Moses/I was also very perturbed.
| ויאמר משה אל יהוה למה הרעת לעבדך ולמה לא מצתי חן בעיניך לשום את משא כל העם הזה--עלי | 11 |
He/I [went into the Sacred Tent and] asked Yahweh, “Why have you caused me, your servant, to experience this trouble [RHQ]? Act mercifully to me! What wrong have I done, with the result that you have appointed me to take care of all of these people [RHQ]?
| האנכי הריתי את כל העם הזה--אם אנכי ילדתיהו כי תאמר אלי שאהו בחיקך כאשר ישא האמן את הינק על האדמה אשר נשבעת לאבתיו | 12 |
(I am not their father./Am I their father?) [RHQ] Why have you told me to take care of them like a woman carries around her baby and (nurses it/gives it her milk) [MET, RHQ]? How can I take them to the land that you promised to give to our ancestors [RHQ]?
| מאין לי בשר לתת לכל העם הזה כי יבכו עלי לאמר תנה לנו בשר ונאכלה | 13 |
Where can I get meat to feed all these people? They keep complaining to me, saying, ‘Give us some meat to eat!’
| לא אוכל אנכי לבדי לשאת את כל העם הזה כי כבד ממני | 14 |
I cannot carry all these people’s burdens by myself! [They are like a heavy load [MET], and] I cannot carry this very heavy load any more.
| ואם ככה את עשה לי הרגני נא הרג--אם מצאתי חן בעיניך ואל אראה ברעתי | 15 |
If you intend to act like this toward me, kill me now. If you are really concerned about me, be kind to me and [kill me to] end my misery [of trying to take care of them]!”
| ויאמר יהוה אל משה אספה לי שבעים איש מזקני ישראל אשר ידעת כי הם זקני העם ושטריו ולקחת אתם אל אהל מועד והתיצבו שם עמך | 16 |
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Summon 70 men whom you know are leaders among the Israeli people. Tell them to stand with you in front of the Sacred Tent.
| וירדתי ודברתי עמך שם ואצלתי מן הרוח אשר עליך ושמתי עליהם ונשאו אתך במשא העם ולא תשא אתה לבדך | 17 |
I will come down and talk with you there. Then I will take some of [the power of] my Spirit that you have, and I will put [that power] on them also. They will help you to take care of some of the things that the people are concerned about, in order that you will not need to do it alone.
| ואל העם תאמר התקדשו למחר ואכלתם בשר--כי בכיתם באזני יהוה לאמר מי יאכלנו בשר כי טוב לנו במצרים ונתן יהוה לכם בשר ואכלתם | 18 |
“Furthermore, say to the people, ‘Make yourselves acceptable to me, and tomorrow you will have meat to eat. You were complaining, and Yahweh heard you when you were saying, “We want some meat to eat. We had better food in Egypt!” Now Yahweh will give you some meat, and you will eat it.
| לא יום אחד תאכלון ולא יומים ולא חמשה ימים ולא עשרה ימים ולא עשרים יום | 19 |
You will eat meat not only for one or two days, nor only for five or ten or 20 days.
| עד חדש ימים עד אשר יצא מאפכם והיה לכם לזרא יען כי מאסתם את יהוה אשר בקרבכם ותבכו לפניו לאמר למה זה יצאנו ממצרים | 20 |
[You will eat meat every day] for one month, and then you will loathe/despise it, and it will cause you to want to vomit. [This will happen] because you have rejected Yahweh who is here among you, and you have wailed in his presence, saying [“We would have had better food to eat] if we had not left Egypt [RHQ].”’”
| ויאמר משה שש מאות אלף רגלי העם אשר אנכי בקרבו ואתה אמרת בשר אתן להם ואכלו חדש ימים | 21 |
But Moses/I replied to Yahweh, “There are 600,000 men [plus women and children] here with me, so ([why] do you say ‘I will give them plenty of meat every day for a month!’?/it does not seem right for you to say ‘I will give them plenty of meat every day for a month!’) [RHQ]
| הצאן ובקר ישחט להם ומצא להם אם את כל דגי הים יאסף להם ומצא להם | 22 |
Even if we killed all the sheep and cattle, that would not [RHQ] be enough [to provide meat for all of them] Even if we caught all the fish in the sea [and gave it to them], that would not be enough [RHQ]!”
| ויאמר יהוה אל משה היד יהוה תקצר עתה תראה היקרך דברי אם לא | 23 |
But Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Do you think that I [SYN] have no power? You will now see if I can do what I say I will do.”
| ויצא משה--וידבר אל העם את דברי יהוה ויאסף שבעים איש מזקני העם ויעמד אתם סביבת האהל | 24 |
So Moses/I went out [from the Sacred Tent] and told the people what Yahweh had said. Then he/I gathered together the 70 leaders and told them to stand around the Sacred Tent.
| וירד יהוה בענן וידבר אליו ויאצל מן הרוח אשר עליו ויתן על שבעים איש הזקנים ויהי כנוח עליהם הרוח ויתנבאו ולא יספו | 25 |
Then Yahweh came down in the cloud [that was above the tent] and spoke to Moses/me. He took some of [the power of] the Spirit that he had given to Moses/me and gave it to the 70 leaders. By means of the power of the Spirit within them, they (prophesied/spoke messages that Yahweh gave them), but they did that only once.
| וישארו שני אנשים במחנה שם האחד אלדד ושם השני מידד ותנח עלהם הרוח והמה בכתבים ולא יצאו האהלה ויתנבאו במחנה | 26 |
Two of the leaders whom Moses/I appointed, Eldad and Medad, were not there when the rest of them gathered together. They had not left [their tents] to go and stand around the Sacred Tent. But Yahweh’s Spirit came on them also, and they started to (prophesy/speak messages from Yahweh).
| וירץ הנער ויגד למשה ויאמר אלדד ומידד מתנבאים במחנה | 27 |
So a young man ran and told Moses/me, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in all their tents!”
| ויען יהושע בן נון משרת משה מבחריו--ויאמר אדני משה כלאם | 28 |
Joshua, who had helped Moses/me since he was a young man, said, “Sir, tell them to stop doing that!”
| ויאמר לו משה המקנא אתה לי ומי יתן כל עם יהוה נביאים--כי יתן יהוה את רוחו עליהם | 29 |
But Moses/I replied, “(Are you worried that they might injure my reputation/Do you think that I want to be the only one who prophesies) [RHQ]? I wish that all Yahweh’s people could (prophesy/speak messages from Yahweh). I wish that Yahweh would give the power of his Spirit to all of them!”
| ויאסף משה אל המחנה--הוא וזקני ישראל | 30 |
Then Moses/I and all the leaders went back to their/our tents.
| ורוח נסע מאת יהוה ויגז שלוים מן הים ויטש על המחנה כדרך יום כה וכדרך יום כה סביבות המחנה--וכאמתים על פני הארץ | 31 |
Then Yahweh sent a strong wind from the sea. It blew quail into the area all around the camp for miles in every direction, [and caused the quail to fall onto the ground]. They were piled up on the ground about (3 feet/1 meter) high!
| ויקם העם כל היום ההוא וכל הלילה וכל יום המחרת ויאספו את השלו--הממעיט אסף עשרה חמרים וישטחו להם שטוח סביבות המחנה | 32 |
So the people went out and gathered up the quail all that day, and all that night, and all of the following day. [It seemed as though] everyone gathered at least 50 bushels! They spread the quail out on the ground all around the camp, [so that the quail would dry out].
| הבשר עודנו בין שניהם--טרם יכרת ואף יהוה חרה בעם ויך יהוה בעם מכה רבה מאד | 33 |
[Then they cooked them and started to eat them]. But while they were still eating the meat [MTY], Yahweh [showed that he] was very angry with them. He struck them with a severe plague/sickness, [and many people died].
| ויקרא את שם המקום ההוא קברות התאוה כי שם קברו את העם המתאוים | 34 |
The people who died and were buried were the ones who had said they wanted to eat meat [like they had formerly eaten in Egypt]. So they called that place Kibroth-Hattaavah, [which means ‘graves of those who craved’].
| מקברות התאוה נסעו העם חצרות ויהיו בחצרות | 35 |
From there, the Israelis continued walking [east] until they arrived at Hazeroth [town], where they stopped and stayed [for a long time].
